Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
I have a beautiful Franka IIIL from the 1950s; I bought it at an antiques store over a year and a half ago. Ever since I've had it I've had a problem with shutter speeds from 1/15 and below (including Bulb); it's sticky. The speeds 1/30 and above work just fine, and they're accurate.
The shutter is a Prontor-SVS shutter. Does anybody know who in the US could repair it?
The shutter is a Prontor-SVS shutter. Does anybody know who in the US could repair it?
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
And I apologize...I just realized I opened this thread under 35mm Rangefinders, rather than 120 format. This rangefinder is obviously a 120 format camera.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
Bueler? Anyone?
RJBender
RFF Sponsoring Member
gabrielma said:
I had a Franka Rolfix with a Rodenstock that was easy to repair. Close the bellows, open the back and unscrew the jam nut with a spanner. (You could use a screwdriver but it's easy to slip and put a hole in the bellows with the screwdriver). Open the bellows and remove the shutter and lens assembly. Unscrew the front and rear elements. Now, you have to decide if you want to open the shutter or not. There are no springs that pop out but there are levers that can move out of place. The problem with yours is common with all leaf shutters. The slow speed gear train is dirty and is hanging up. You could soak the whole shutter assembly in naptha for a few hours. Do this outside. Remove the shutter and work it through all the speeds peridoically. When the speeds look correct, remove the shutter assembly, shake it a few times to remove the excess naptha and let it dry for a few days. If you have any haze on the shutter leaves or iris you can remove it with naptha and a Q- tip pressing very lightly on these components.
R.J.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
D@ng! I just read this. Thank you for the reply! I'll try that. Thanks again.
batterytypehah!
Lord of the Dings
Hey, bumped a thread up after almost 5 years. Is that some kind of record?
I'm not sure the answer above still represents the collective wisdom of the forum. Removing the lens/shutter assembly straight away seems a little drastic to me.
Anyway, really just keeping this visible until one of our folder experts can chime in.
I see one of ours has an illustrated guide for a similar model here http://www.flickr.com/photos/29504544@N08/sets/72157608683061389/
I'm not sure the answer above still represents the collective wisdom of the forum. Removing the lens/shutter assembly straight away seems a little drastic to me.
Anyway, really just keeping this visible until one of our folder experts can chime in.
I see one of ours has an illustrated guide for a similar model here http://www.flickr.com/photos/29504544@N08/sets/72157608683061389/
jnoir
Well-known
I agree, it must be some kind of record (lack of time? extreme lazyness? ;-) Flickr's link might be enough, as it is basically the same shutter. RJBender's tips are also useful.
Franka used to name their cameras rather randomly, and sometimes the same camera with the same features appears named Solida II or III, or even plain Solida.
To access, clean and lubricate (only in a couple of specific places and in a very very _very_ tiny fashion) the slow speeds cam, removing it from the camera is almost mandatory (at least if you want to do it the right way).
It's actually pretty easy, and does not need a _full_ disassembly of the shutter (you will need however to remove metal covers and, if I were the OP, the glass elements).
The naphta solution may be a temporary correction, but most of the time this only moves dirt to other places rather than removing it.
Solidas are great and fun cameras, worth the repair - but maybe you can start with a simpler model, L (or E as in Entfernungmesser, german for Lightmeter) are not as common as the non-L models.
Franka used to name their cameras rather randomly, and sometimes the same camera with the same features appears named Solida II or III, or even plain Solida.
To access, clean and lubricate (only in a couple of specific places and in a very very _very_ tiny fashion) the slow speeds cam, removing it from the camera is almost mandatory (at least if you want to do it the right way).
It's actually pretty easy, and does not need a _full_ disassembly of the shutter (you will need however to remove metal covers and, if I were the OP, the glass elements).
The naphta solution may be a temporary correction, but most of the time this only moves dirt to other places rather than removing it.
Solidas are great and fun cameras, worth the repair - but maybe you can start with a simpler model, L (or E as in Entfernungmesser, german for Lightmeter) are not as common as the non-L models.
hanskerensky
Well-known
That would be my set then
To resolve these shutter issues properly the only way is to open them and perform a decent CLA.
My Prontor-SVS works great again. It's on a Solida IIE and I recently shot a testfilm with that folder to compare it's Enna Ennagon with the Enna Haponar lens on a Hapo 66E.
jnoir
Well-known
That would be my set then
I looked at your Iskra's sets, they are very very helpful. Those cameras are a pain to work with, I have just returned one to a customer which was full of "surprises" during the CLA (but fortunately the advance mechanism works). I can live with broken or glued screws, but man, the previous repairman put grease on the shutter's blades!
I do not have an account in Flickr, so I didn't post a comment in your sets, but now that I know you're here, should you like to have a side by side comparison between Iskra's and Super Isolette's advance mechanism to illustrate just PM me.
hanskerensky
Well-known
Had the same experience recently with a Perkeo II. Probably somebody thougth that changing oil in a camera must be the same as for the motor of a car.
Benefit though was that i could buy the Voigtländer dirtcheap.
I'll send you a PM soon.
Regards,
Hans